We are an interdisciplinary team of instructional designers with over 90 combined years of experience in education and 32 combined years of experience in technology. Our specialties include K-12 education, gifted and talented education, higher education, adult education, educational technology, educational psychology and research, software, applications, networking, hardware, instructional design, and technology integration.
The Great Designers invite you to access their wiki regularly to follow our progress on our current project.
Our Current Project
Our current project is the development of a Book Builder(www.bookbuilder.cast.org/) product for the high school population exploring the impact of the Great Depression in how people relaxed and entertained themselves. Our creative instructional design approach to this project will incorporate text, video, photos, and music clips to create a highly interactive and engaging learning experience for students.
Why Study the Great Depression in Book Builder?
Background
U.S. History is a required course for high school graduation in the state of South Carolina. In 2005 the SC Department of Education implemented an End of Course (EOC) exam for all students enrolled in U.S. History and Constitution. Since the implementation of the EOC exam, scores have been consistently low with the percentage of students earning a D or F ranging from 78.4% in 2009 (the first year data was available) to 71% in 2012. Although, the percentage of students receiving a D or F have decreased over the last 4 years, the vast majority of students continue to perform poorly on the exam, and the percentage of grades of C or higher has risen by no more than 3-4% year over year. Additionally, no more than 3% have attained a grade of A in any year tested.
See the table below for data on students' mean EOC exam scores as well as the percentages of students earning As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs on the exam.
Year
Students Tested
Mean Score
% of As
% of Bs
% of Cs
% of Ds
% of Fs
2009
47,621
69.4
2.0
5.1
14.6
20.8
57.6
2010
48,017
69.8
2.1
5.4
16.6
22.2
53.7
2011
47,724
71.0
2.9
8.2
16.9
21.6
50.3
2012
47,653
71.2
3.0
8.5
17.5
23.8
47.2
The need for improvement in student achievement in U.S. History and Constitution is evident from the testing data above. (Source: ed.sc.gov/data/eocep/index.cfm)
Rationale
Secondary students statewide have consistently performed poorly on the EOC exam in U.S. History and Constitution. Although there may be many reasons for these disappointing results, based on anecdotal evidence offered by students in U.S. History classes, students often do not have an interest in the content and the delivery of instruction is sometimes inconsistent with the needs of the students. Moreover, the need for improvement focuses on two key areas for both the student and the educator, 1.) U.S. History is a required course for graduation and the EOC exam accounts for 20% of the students overall grade for the course, 2.) EOC scores are used by the SC Department of Education for school and district report card purposes and ultimately funding considerations. For these two reasons as well as the need to increase student learning, a retooling of teaching strategies and learning opportunities provided in U.S. History classes is called for.
Moreover, the importance of instilling in students an appreciation for U.S. History cannot be overstated. No one knows what will happen in the future, but the past can help guide us into the future. The lessons of the past are like a map into the future. By examining the struggles, successes, and failures of our ancestors, we learn how to examine ourselves. The mere act of learning from the past and knowing the stories of many different people is a tribute to their lives. "(H)istory is not just a bunch of names and dates. History is the story of how we became who we now are" (Why Do We Study History: keviin.hubpages.com/hub/Why_Do_We_Study_History).
Purpose
The purpose of the following instructional design sequence is to raise student scores by raising student interest. It is our intent to create a multi-media product that while specific in its scope (e.g. the impact of the Great Depression on entertainment and fun), will be engaging and stimulate student interest by appealing to students' need for more interactive content. Bookbuilder's interactive, student-centered features are well-suited to provide us the platform for our multi-media product.
Instructional Objectives and Goal Statement
The objectives of this instructional unit are in line with the SC standards for U.S. History and Constitution as follows:
USHC-6.1Explain the impact of the changes in the 1920s on the economy, society, and culture, including the expansion of mass production techniques, the invention of new home appliances, the introduction of the installment plan, the role of transportation in changing urban life, the effect of radio and movies in creating a national mass culture, and the cultural changes exemplified by the Harlem Renaissance.
USHC-6.3Explain the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, including the disparities in income and wealth distribution; the collapse of the farm economy and the effects of the Dust Bowl; limited governmental regulation; taxes, investment; and stock market speculation; policies of the federal government and the Federal Reserve System; and the effects of the Depression on the people.
Our project will also address the following objective:
Students will be able to identify and explain specific challenges faced by people during the Great Depression and describe how they dealt with them.
The ultimate goal of this instructional sequence is to generate an increase in student engagement, and thereby an increase in student achievement, on U.S. History and Constitution End of Course (EOC) exam scores.
Who Are the Great Designers?
Shawn
Shawn is currently serving as the multi-media producer on this project. He has taught eight years at the high school level at Fairfield Central High School. In addition to teaching Shawn has had previous experience in the field of technology prior to coming into education for a wide range of experience. Shawn currently teaches U.S. History and Constitution to high school juniors and is aware of the need for improved delivery of instruction in order to assist teachers. With the improvement of instructional methods an increase in student knowledge can be realized, and translated into improved performance on state standardized test scores.
Susan
Susan is currently serving as the graphic designer on this project. She has taught fourteen years at the elementary school level. The last three years she has been teaching the Talented and Gifted classes at Barnwell Elementary School. She has been responsible for organizing schedules, curriculum, and all field studies for the three Talented and Gifted grade levels. This past year she received donations to begin a robotics curriculum. She also coaches an after school robotics team that competes in regional competitions.
Mary Ann
Mary Ann is serving as the subject-matter content expert. She is a retired (2003) high school instructor. Currently, she works for a local Office of Adult Education in partnership with SC Vocational Rehabilitation and Goodwill Industries. Adult learners are prepared to earn the National Career Readiness WorkKeys Job Certification and/or GED. Due to the high demand for technology integration in the field of adult education, she also teaches other educators how to set up online classrooms and administer online assessments.
Undergraduate Studies: Tuskegee University (Social Studies) - Graduate Studies: (Adult Education)
Pursuing master's in Educational Technology.
Barbara
Barbara is serving as the assessment/evaluation expert. She has worked with computer technology in support of K-12 and Adult Education for 22 years. Currently employed by the SC Department of Education, Barbara provides technical support for district administrative software and helps define the testing, evaluation and implementation process required for the release of new technologies. She has experience in the coordination of “pilot” tests for software releases and has created testing scenarios for the purpose of evaluating specific procedures. She is looking forward to evaluating student learning by gathering and interpreting the data from this project’s pre- and post-tests and formative evaluations.
Erin
Erin is serving as the production manager for The Great Designers' current project. She has worked in higher education for nine years, including experience working with students with disabilities, adult learners, and at-risk populations as well as classroom teaching experience. Erin currently is the director of a TRIO Student Support Services grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. She holds a master's degree in social work and is pursuing a Ph.D. in educational psychology and research from the University of South Carolina. Her past experience with instructional design includes developing student lessons on academic integrity and college etiquette as well as several professional development workshops on topics related to education and social work.
Table of Contents
The Great Designers
We are an interdisciplinary team of instructional designers with over 90 combined years of experience in education and 32 combined years of experience in technology. Our specialties include K-12 education, gifted and talented education, higher education, adult education, educational technology, educational psychology and research, software, applications, networking, hardware, instructional design, and technology integration.The Great Designers invite you to access their wiki regularly to follow our progress on our current project.
Our Current Project
Our current project is the development of a Book Builder(www.bookbuilder.cast.org/) product for the high school population exploring the impact of the Great Depression in how people relaxed and entertained themselves. Our creative instructional design approach to this project will incorporate text, video, photos, and music clips to create a highly interactive and engaging learning experience for students.Why Study the Great Depression in Book Builder?
Background
U.S. History is a required course for high school graduation in the state of South Carolina. In 2005 the SC Department of Education implemented an End of Course (EOC) exam for all students enrolled in U.S. History and Constitution. Since the implementation of the EOC exam, scores have been consistently low with the percentage of students earning a D or F ranging from 78.4% in 2009 (the first year data was available) to 71% in 2012. Although, the percentage of students receiving a D or F have decreased over the last 4 years, the vast majority of students continue to perform poorly on the exam, and the percentage of grades of C or higher has risen by no more than 3-4% year over year. Additionally, no more than 3% have attained a grade of A in any year tested.See the table below for data on students' mean EOC exam scores as well as the percentages of students earning As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs on the exam.
The need for improvement in student achievement in U.S. History and Constitution is evident from the testing data above. (Source: ed.sc.gov/data/eocep/index.cfm)
Rationale
Secondary students statewide have consistently performed poorly on the EOC exam in U.S. History and Constitution. Although there may be many reasons for these disappointing results, based on anecdotal evidence offered by students in U.S. History classes, students often do not have an interest in the content and the delivery of instruction is sometimes inconsistent with the needs of the students. Moreover, the need for improvement focuses on two key areas for both the student and the educator, 1.) U.S. History is a required course for graduation and the EOC exam accounts for 20% of the students overall grade for the course, 2.) EOC scores are used by the SC Department of Education for school and district report card purposes and ultimately funding considerations. For these two reasons as well as the need to increase student learning, a retooling of teaching strategies and learning opportunities provided in U.S. History classes is called for.Moreover, the importance of instilling in students an appreciation for U.S. History cannot be overstated. No one knows what will happen in the future, but the past can help guide us into the future. The lessons of the past are like a map into the future. By examining the struggles, successes, and failures of our ancestors, we learn how to examine ourselves. The mere act of learning from the past and knowing the stories of many different people is a tribute to their lives. "(H)istory is not just a bunch of names and dates. History is the story of how we became who we now are" (Why Do We Study History: keviin.hubpages.com/hub/Why_Do_We_Study_History).
Purpose
The purpose of the following instructional design sequence is to raise student scores by raising student interest. It is our intent to create a multi-media product that while specific in its scope (e.g. the impact of the Great Depression on entertainment and fun), will be engaging and stimulate student interest by appealing to students' need for more interactive content. Bookbuilder's interactive, student-centered features are well-suited to provide us the platform for our multi-media product.Instructional Objectives and Goal Statement
The objectives of this instructional unit are in line with the SC standards for U.S. History and Constitution as follows:USHC-6.1 Explain the impact of the changes in the 1920s on the economy, society, and culture, including the expansion of mass production techniques, the invention of new home appliances, the introduction of the installment plan, the role of transportation in changing urban life, the effect of radio and movies in creating a national mass culture, and the cultural changes exemplified by the Harlem Renaissance.
USHC-6.3 Explain the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, including the disparities in income and wealth distribution; the collapse of the farm economy and the effects of the Dust Bowl; limited governmental regulation; taxes, investment; and stock market speculation; policies of the federal government and the Federal Reserve System; and the effects of the Depression on the people.
Our project will also address the following objective:
Students will be able to identify and explain specific challenges faced by people during the Great Depression and describe how they dealt with them.
The ultimate goal of this instructional sequence is to generate an increase in student engagement, and thereby an increase in student achievement, on U.S. History and Constitution End of Course (EOC) exam scores.
Who Are the Great Designers?
Shawn
Shawn is currently serving as the multi-media producer on this project. He has taught eight years at the high school level at Fairfield Central High School. In addition to teaching Shawn has had previous experience in the field of technology prior to coming into education for a wide range of experience. Shawn currently teaches U.S. History and Constitution to high school juniors and is aware of the need for improved delivery of instruction in order to assist teachers. With the improvement of instructional methods an increase in student knowledge can be realized, and translated into improved performance on state standardized test scores.Susan
Susan is currently serving as the graphic designer on this project. She has taught fourteen years at the elementary school level. The last three years she has been teaching the Talented and Gifted classes at Barnwell Elementary School. She has been responsible for organizing schedules, curriculum, and all field studies for the three Talented and Gifted grade levels. This past year she received donations to begin a robotics curriculum. She also coaches an after school robotics team that competes in regional competitions.Mary Ann
Mary Ann is serving as the subject-matter content expert. She is a retired (2003) high school instructor. Currently, she works for a local Office of Adult Education in partnership with SC Vocational Rehabilitation and Goodwill Industries. Adult learners are prepared to earn the National Career Readiness WorkKeys Job Certification and/or GED. Due to the high demand for technology integration in the field of adult education, she also teaches other educators how to set up online classrooms and administer online assessments.Undergraduate Studies: Tuskegee University (Social Studies) - Graduate Studies: (Adult Education)
Pursuing master's in Educational Technology.
Barbara
Barbara is serving as the assessment/evaluation expert. She has worked with computer technology in support of K-12 and Adult Education for 22 years. Currently employed by the SC Department of Education, Barbara provides technical support for district administrative software and helps define the testing, evaluation and implementation process required for the release of new technologies. She has experience in the coordination of “pilot” tests for software releases and has created testing scenarios for the purpose of evaluating specific procedures. She is looking forward to evaluating student learning by gathering and interpreting the data from this project’s pre- and post-tests and formative evaluations.Erin
Erin is serving as the production manager for The Great Designers' current project. She has worked in higher education for nine years, including experience working with students with disabilities, adult learners, and at-risk populations as well as classroom teaching experience. Erin currently is the director of a TRIO Student Support Services grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. She holds a master's degree in social work and is pursuing a Ph.D. in educational psychology and research from the University of South Carolina. Her past experience with instructional design includes developing student lessons on academic integrity and college etiquette as well as several professional development workshops on topics related to education and social work.